


Stress Response

by georgette_the_frog



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (also...sort of), (sort of), Accidentally High, Crack Treated Seriously, Drugs, F/M, Fluff, See notes for warnings, Xenobiology, at least fluffier than it sounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 11:15:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10718286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgette_the_frog/pseuds/georgette_the_frog
Summary: "In a medical sense, Alteans are a near-ideal species. Their bodies can handle drugs more efficiently, with fewer side effects, and most of their biological receptors are self-regulating before their bodies hit a saturation point that might prove lethal. Case in point: medications are far less effective on an Altean body than on most other species. Generally, it's best not to fight an Altean, due to their high pain tolerance, but even then their bodies can produce a stress response and construct endocannabanoids to ease their discomfort. Though it is not widely known, those same hormones play a role in procreation."Tl;dr last time Shiro slept with Allura he accidentally wound upincredibly fucking high.





	Stress Response

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings:  
> 1\. I'm trying to expand my writing ability, and I have a good friend who told me to write what makes me uncomfortable. This time around, that happened to be xeno. It's very mild, all things considered, but as I'm trying something new, it may get butchered. We'll see what happens.
> 
> 2\. Here, Shiro’s written as 25 and Allura is the Altean equivalent of 28, whatever that might be. I know there’s currently discussion about the ages of characters, but I can’t imagine them somehow being younger. Don't read it if you're under 18 or if it makes you uncomfortable.

“What are you doing?”

Pidge’s voice startles him, breaking his focus. He looks up from the screen readout, trying to regulate his breathing, but he can feel his face starting to heat anyway. From past experience, he knows he’s probably turning splotchy red out of embarrassment. “Oh, nothing much, just running a couple tests.”

“Ohh, fun. What sort of tests?”

“Just. You know. Trying to determine what a substance is.”

“Ah, the ol’ mystery substance game. Well, what have you got?”

“Not sure yet, waiting on the systems to spit out an answer.”

Pidge grabs a floating stool and slides over to the monitor, pulling up another couple scans and adding them to the mix. By the time she’s done, the system’s run half a dozen tests. Shiro recognizes the GC-MS, HPLC and UV-vis spec tests since he started them himself, but Pidge works her magic on the system and somehow manages to run an x-ray fluorescence test on the liquid sample, as well as couple other tests he’s less familiar with and half a dozen he doesn’t recognize.

Distantly, he’s sure they’re of Altean origin, but he hopes beyond hope they can’t identify the substance for what it _actually_ is.

Results start coming in and Pidge cracks her knuckles. “It’s giving a reading for…uh, Arachidonoylglycerol? I’m not familiar with that one.” She starts working on a datapad and glances back up as more results roll up the screen. “Both DMSO and MSM. Low readings of DHEA too. Couple other things. Looks like…hm. It’s mostly just a pile of endocannabinoids and a carrier agent.” She stares at the scans and the readouts, and then her eyes narrow. “Damn, Shiro, what the hell is this? Where did you get this?”

“I just…picked it up…trying to clarify a few things.” He makes a vague helpless motion toward his prosthetic, face further burning.

Pidge stares at his arm for a minute, then whistles. “Whatever they did to you, this is a pretty powerful biological stimulant. It’d hit and hit hard. That’s the sort of cocktail that…I’m not sure what it would do, but it wouldn’t be pretty. Would probably make you incredibly high.” She frowns. “It’d probably have a combined calming and soothing effect? While making you high? I don’t know.”

She lights up. “Is this what they gave you when they attached your prosthetic?”

“Maybe? I’m not really sure…” he trails off, pretending to be absorbed in the readout.

She looks hesitantly at his arm. “Galra medicine sounds like…weird stuff.”

He nods, and prays to anyone listening that she keeps thinking that as she finally leaves him to consider the results.

* * *

The door closes behind them and Allura pushes him gently, walking him backward until his shoulders hit the wall. She presses up against him and he wants nothing more than to fall into this again, whatever it is that’s growing between them, but there’s something they need to talk about first. He wraps his hands around her waist and pushes her away, as gently as he can.

“You forgot to mention that sleeping with you would have the side effect of making me high,” Shiro deadpans.

Allura looks puzzled. “Does that not happen with humans? The flood of hormones?”

“No. No it doesn’t. Not like that.”

She looks at him like he’s got two heads. “Human bodies don’t produce bonding hormones??”

“I…no, not like that? It’s…” he struggles to remember the details, which had slipped to the back of his mind years before, fairly unimportant details. “Oxytocin? Adrenaline? Really, there’s a bunch of them. But for the most part, they stay in the body of the person that produces them.” He can’t believe he’s having this conversation with Allura. He can’t believe he’s having this conversation _at all_.

“Oh. So humans don’t have any sort of…bonding hormones.” She frowns. “Well, that’s inconvenient. And rather absurd, in a biological sense. I mean…” her cheeks darken and she looks concerned, “was it not pleasurable to you?”

He wants to cringe at the word ‘pleasurable’ but stomps out his gut response. “It was. It absolutely was. Just. Not in the way I expected.”

“Oh.” She steps back and it’s clear this conversation has pretty quickly killed the mood. He sighs, she sighs, and then instead of continuing, Allura retreats to the divan in her receiving room and looks up at him, patting the cushion as a clear invitation to join her. “I suppose we ought to talk about things, then.”

“So.” He sits down uncomfortably. “Are bonding hormones particularly ineffective on Alteans? Is that why it doesn’t hit you as hard as it hit me?”

“I suppose? It feels a bit like…fluttering, sometimes? But they’re found in many species throughout the universe. It’s certainly not as though Alteans are alone in that. I suppose it’s entirely possible that they’re not necessary in humans, although many bipedals have developed similar systems.”

Shiro takes a deep breath. “Alright, well, I think the best place to start is this: the amount of…” he hesitates, trying to decide if the more accurate term is ‘hormones’ or ‘drugs’, and settles on the most technically accurate term, “endocannabanoids and other drugs in you…your…” _bodily fluids._ He can’t bring himself to say it. Instead, he resorts to a vague hand wave and tries to suppress the embarrassment, “…it’s a strong enough dose to make mehigh. To the point that, if there were an emergency, I don’t know that I could pilot the Black Lion.”

“Ohh.” Allura’s eyes go wide.

“Yeah.”

“That’s…” she hesitates, “…inconvenient.”

“Yeah.”

She frowns. “I’m fairly certain it would be possible to synthesize a blocker, but it may take some time. I’d need to consult the castle’s records, at the very least.”

“Right.”

She shifts closer to him and laces his fingers through hers. She seems to consider the problem for a couple minutes, drawing aimless patterns he doesn’t recognize across the back of his hand with her free hand. She finally asks, “Were there any…other adverse effects?”

“What?” He stares at her. “Like, other than getting high?”

“Mhmm.”

“I…” he’s lost for words. “Not particularly?”

“So you wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to a repeat performance?” She scoots toward him, pressing her legs up against the side of his thigh.

“No, I wouldn’t. Not in the slightest.” But he’s supposed to be a team leader, and it’s not the most responsible choice to be making. “I don’t know if that would be the most sensible decision.”

She nods, then seems to make a decision and climbs up for a moment before sprawling over his lap and pushing him back into the divan. “The universe managed without Voltron for 10,000 years. I think it can wait another hour. Worst case scenario.”

“Oh,” he manages before she catches him in a kiss again, and with the insistent weight of her in his lap this time, his mind goes straight back to the gutter.

When she breaks away, it’s to give him a coy smile. “Is that a good ‘oh’?”

“Definitely.”

Allura leans back in for another deep kiss, nipping his bottom lip as she releases him and climbs to her feet. “Let’s take this somewhere more comfortable.”

He follows, wondering what he’s gotten himself into.

* * *

It’s not long before a steamy makeout session turns more heated, and clothes start disappearing. In fact, it’s all fairly standard for them, getting hot and heavy perhaps faster than it ought to until Allura struggles to work his undershirt over his head, the skintight material clinging to his face for a minute before finally popping off.

Allura giggles as he tries to brush his hair back down, and he eventually gives it up as hopeless, turning his attention back to removing _her_ clothes this time. Her outer gown slips off with little trouble once he finds the start of the closure, which is something like Velcro but with hooks and loops so small they’re near invisible. Her sleeves slip off with similar ease, and as she leans in for a kiss, he takes the opportunity to stroke his hands down her sides, ribs to hips. The fabric of her underdress is silky and light, and he can feel the seams of her underwear underneath.

They take things slow, but it’s not long before the last of their clothes are gone and she’s straddled over Shiro’s lap as they make out. He’s seated up against the headboard of her bed, and it’s comfortable, almost easy to fall into it. At first, his hands wrap about her waist, but she shifts and they slide downward. He knows his face is burning but the curve of her ass fits perfectly in his hands, just one more way they seem to fit together like two perfectly matched pieces of a puzzle.

Allura is a combination of soft curves and muscle, and it’s infinitely appealing. He takes the opportunity to plant a kiss just above one of her collarbones, letting his fingers tease from the muscles of her back around to her stomach, up to the soft skin just below her breasts. She gives a soft sigh of satisfaction and he pulls her closer, hoping to draw more sounds out of her with his mouth. He’d be happy to simply touch her for hours on end, but it’s been clear since the beginning that she has more in mind. 

Her hand guides his up to her bicep, and he feels the small bump of the implant on the inner side of her arm. The miniscule mark is a fresh incision, the length of a fingernail.

Positioned as they are, he’s at eye level with her lips but he’s forced to look up ever so slightly to meet her eyes.

“I had the implant replaced. You know, 10,000 years in stasis isn’t typically something drugs are tested for.”

“Sounds like a good decision.”

“Speaking of good decisions, are you alright with this?” she murmurs.

“Mhmm,” he quickly finds words, a prickle of anticipation running up his spine. “I think you said it best. The universe can wait another hour.”

Her smile is wry and full of humor. She adjusts herself over him and holds his cock steady as she lowers herself, sliding slowly down his length.

The tight heat of her body is intense, and he barely manages to hold himself together. He tries to gain a bit more leverage, but there’s none to be found in the position he’s in. He clings to her, silently begging her not to move, but she leans forward and kisses him again, grinding down on him with a rock of her hips.

Allura is, as ever, stunningly beautiful. But like this, buried in her warmth to the hilt, she seems a bit more approachable, less Princess and more Allura. Her hand caresses his cheek, tracing out the shape of his face. He can’t help closing his eyes and relaxing into it, eventually opening his eyes to find her watching him with a soft expression.

“What are you thinking?”

She hesitates for a moment, then smiles, chagrined. “You’re quite beautiful, despite the unfortunate shape of human ears.”

The comment hits him somewhere in the chest, twisting an angry part of him he’s tried to bury. Instead of letting it loose, he buries his face in the crook of her neck and groans. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Don’t worry, they’re endearing.” She shifts and balances herself perfectly with a hand on his shoulder, splayed over a trio of old scars. She wraps herself more tightly around him, and the angle changes just enough to make her moan quietly. He rocks his hips up into her, attempting to suppress a shudder at how good it feels.

He’s half surprised when she grabs one of his hands and positions it between them, shifting his fingers until they’re in a position she can work with. It’s not long before she’s breathing hard, and he nips gently at the pulse point that flutters in her neck.

She shakes as she comes the first time, a wispy moan leaving her like an exhalation. He inhales shakily and breathes through it, unwilling to let his own lack of resolve be the end of this. When she catches her breath, she looks at him with surprise for a moment before grinning and setting a fresh pace.

When the bonding hormones finally hit his bloodstream, they hit fast and hard. Knowing what’s coming doesn’t stop it from happening, although it does make it a far more enjoyable experience. The first time it had happened, he’d nearly blacked out, and hell if that wouldn’t have been cripplingly embarrassing.

By the time he recognizes what’s happening it’s already too late. He’s high to the point that his perception of time seems to have slowed, like the time between the heartbeats he can hear in his ears have lengthened. The soft sound of her breath seems to echo in his ears. Everything is so much more intense, and while everything would be incredibly good while in his right mind, like this it’s almost unbearably satisfying.

She keeps a steady rhythm and he would swear his heartbeat steadies to match it. The cadence physically feels good, a sort of whole-body pulsation, like a low-frequency vibration. It’s easy to move with her and it feels completely effortless. It’s sensual and deliciously erotic, but only just not enough. Barely. He’s on an edge, but he’s coasting.

All the aches and pains of training melt away into euphoria and there’s no one in the world but the two of them. He can feel his pulse, her pulse, in his ears in his temples in the vessels that flutter beneath the thin skin of her neck, where his good hand is wrapped to cradle the back of her head.

The sheets of her bed stick to him, clinging and a bit tacky with sweat. They’re unreasonably damp for the time they’ve spent here, and something doesn’t seem to match up. But even with the physical strain, it’s easier to keep going than to stop and he forces himself to breathe carefully when she comes again, her head tilting back to press into his hand, baring her neck. He recognizes that the muscles in his hips are beginning to cramp, but it’s a distant sort of realization, one that pops up in the back of his head and doesn’t seem to matter.

He loses track of everything, the time, the number of times she’s come, the whole lot. It all fades into the here and now of sensation. Allura is deliberate, unhurried in her actions but impossibly intense. The lights are low but they seem to land on her face, lighting up her cheeks and eyes and making her tattoos seem to glow faintly. She fucks him slowly, so slowly, each swivel of her hips angling to drag his cock over the best places.

He doesn’t ask her to speed up and he doesn’t know how long she keeps that pace. He’s lost in the high, and everything seems to last forever. Knowing she’s enjoying this as much as he is is a thrill, a feeling that seems to thrum below the surface of his skin.

Allura’s body shakes, and he can no longer tell if it’s from exhaustion or another oncoming orgasm. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, they’re both so far gone. He removes one hand from where it’s still positioned between them and the other from the back of her neck, planting them both firmly on her hips and getting the leverage to thrust up into her. Her back curves and she leans into his grip, letting him urge her slightly faster until she finally, finally gives in again.

Allura buries her face in the crook of his neck and shudders, then slumps, worn out. She takes two small, slow breaths and quietly says, “Takashi.” It’s not a moan, not quite. More whispered, prayer-like. She gasps it into his ear as she clings to him, grips his shoulders like she’s never going to let him go.

That’s what pushes him over the edge. Her body flexes and shifts around him, her hands tighten on his shoulders with strength that could break his bones like matchsticks if she weren’t so careful, and it feels _safe_. Whatever this is between them, it’s something he’s never had before, the feeling of shelter and protection, and he wants nothing more than to return that feeling.

Even as she kisses him through it, he’s not sure if he’s out of breath from the orgasm or not.

When he begins to come down, he feels like he’s run a marathon. He’s still floating along on whatever the sexual equivalent of runner’s high is. With the addition of bonding hormones, he knows that a crash is coming.

He looks up at the muted darkness of the ceiling, knowing he ought to move but feeling physically incapable of it. His mouth tastes oddly of garlic bread, and his pulse beats slow and sluggish in his ears.

“Allura?” it comes out, not slurred, but a bit fuzzy.

Her eyes flick open and she looks at him. “Hm?”

“This is great but…we.” He changes the phrasing. “I think we need to…” that isn’t quite either, and he stops himself.

“We’ll try to work out a solution. I’m sure we can, there ought to be something in the archives somewhere, and if not, well, we’ve got several thousand years of research we can dig into. Don’t worry.”

She plants a kiss in the center of his forehead. He’s asleep before he can think it through.

**Author's Note:**

> tag explanations: Allura’s body secretes Arachidonoylglycerol and a compound nearly identical to DMSO (and half a dozen other thing but it’s a long story that nobody really needs, sorry, chemistry and biology nerd) when she’s turned on. Cannabanoids are far less effective on an Altean system, as they have fewer receptors. It’s much more effective on humans. Shiro feels the results.
> 
> The chemistry is slightly fudged for fic purposes. Fight me, it's close and I don't feel like doing 10 hours of research and a thesis to make sure everything is 100% feasible.
> 
> Comments and questions always welcome! Or come chat with me at georgette-the-frog.tumblr.com


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